The Australian government is advising citizens to reassess their travel intentions to Oman, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia as tensions in the Middle East intensify once again. For more details, view the full story here.
According to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Smartraveller website, the current climate in the region “remains unpredictable” with an ongoing “risk of further attacks and possible escalation.”
The advisory highlights the disruption brought on by the military conflict, citing “widespread fuel supply shortages, flight cancellations, and other travel disruptions” impacting global travel.
“Even if your travel plans do not include the Middle East, they may still face disruptions due to the situation,” the advisory added.
Recent days have seen military strikes and retaliatory attacks across various locales in the Middle East, with targets in Oman, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia all coming under fire, according to the warning.
Oman, Jordan and Saudi Arabia have been upgraded to level three, which advises Australians to reconsider their need to travel and avoid non-essential travel there.
Level three, according to the site’s warning system, indicates serious and potentially life-threatening risks that can make a location unsafe for tourism and unsuitable for most travellers.
“We now advise ‘reconsider your need to travel’ overall due to the unpredictable security situation,” Smartraveller said.
The three nations join Bahrain, Israel, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates at level three.
Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, the Palestinian territories, Syria and Yemen remain at the highest alert level, which advises Australians not to travel there at all.
For Australians already in the Middle East who want to leave, the government continues to advise them to do so while commercial flights are available if it’s safe to travel to an airport.
A fragile ceasefire between the US and Iran has deteriorated this month. The warring nations have been exchanging strikes for days, pushing global oil prices upwards again, shocking markets and triggering renewed fears of a prolonged conflict.
On Monday, Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis declared a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia, raising alarm of further disruption to global trade and potentially opening a new front in the broader regional conflict.